2010 Student Summer Employment Program

The Department of Homeland Security headquarters seeks motivated students looking to contribute their unique insight, skills and talents to support the important mission of securing the homeland.

Our headquarters offices offer paid summer internship opportunities for full-time and part-time college or university students. Academic credit may be awarded in accordance with the appointee's work schedule and his/her individual college or university policies.

The Department's Student Summer Employment Program offers opportunities for students to gain on-the-job experience during the summer of 2010. The following fields may include, but are not limited to the corresponding list of duties:

Applicants to the Business Administration area may be considered for other applicable areas including Buying/Pricing/Contract Negotiation, Finance & Accounting, General Administration/Clerical, and Human Resources.

Buying/Pricing/Contract Negotiation

Reviewing requests for procurement

Analyzing requirements and recommending revisions to the statement of work

Preparing solicitation documents

Analyzing bids and proposals

Recommending the award of purchase orders to senior specialists

Assisting senior specialists by carrying out analytical contract specialist work that includes predetermined phases of assignments designed to provide broad exposure to work in the profession

Helping to coordinate, and participate in, a broad scope of activities related to engagement with American Arab, Muslim, Sikh, South Asian, Middle Eastern, and Somali communities on civil rights issues

Researching and developing enterprise-wide training on civil rights and civil liberties issues for Department staff in support of the Civil Liberties Institute

Providing support to the Disability Policy Team in its effort to proactively integrate principles of nondiscrimination on the basis of disability in all of the Department's policies, programs and activities. This includes, but is not limited to:

Emergency preparedness and response

Assessing existing and proposed Department policies to determine whether they comply with the U.S. Constitution and other applicable laws, regulations, and policies

Conducting policy research and analyses on various topics to inform and guide CRCL’s impact assessment and program work

Establishing, revising, coordinating, implementing and advising on the Civil Rights and Civil Liberties' impact of program planning and management across component lines within the Department, and with Department information sharing, law enforcement and intelligence community partners

Charting recommendations made through final reports issued or memos sent to components, and component responses received, to assist in the effort to monitor compliance with the implementation of our recommendations in closed complaint

Designing the EEO & Diversity Program’s section of the CRCL website and lay foundations for building up a greater web presence

Drafting final agency actions for adjudication of employment discrimination complaints

Catalog appellate activity on findings of discrimination and reprisal in cases before the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and federal district courts

Working closely with the Senior Staff to identify and analyze departmental programs and policies on privacy

Developing new procedures and guidance dealing with the applicability and impact on privacy of current and developing technologies

Performing research on a wide variety of issues related to privacy

Participating in the implementation of federally mandated privacy laws, regulations, policies and procedures at the Department.

Science and Technology

Assisting with the development of application systems to detect explosives and concealed weapons on air cargo, passengers, and the transit systems

Working to prevent acts of catastrophic terrorism by utilizing existing resources, or by developing new ones

Helping to design and test cutting-edge security applications

Assisting with the research, development and testing of new vaccines, antidotes, diagnostics, and therapies against biological and chemical warfare agents, or collaborating with researchers in national laboratories, universities, and corporations to assists with the design, development, and testing of progressive applications

All internship positions are located in the Washington, D.C. area.

How to Apply

Application Deadline: The application process for the 2010 program is now closed.

Requirements: To be eligible for this program, students must be:

A United States citizen

Enrolled or accepted for enrollment as a full or part-time degree (diploma, certificate, etc.) student in an accredited high school, technical or vocational school, 2-year or 4-year college or university, graduate or professional school

At least 16 years of age

Candidate finalists must undergo and successfully complete a background investigation for a security clearance. Selected candidates will be required to submit a copy of their transcripts and a letter of enrollment or acceptance for enrollment for the 2010-2011 academic school year prior to appointment.